Through Trial and Error to Collusion*

In this article we study a very simple trial and error learning process in the context of a Cournot oligopoly. Without any knowledge of the payoff functions players increase, respectively decrease, their quantity as long as this leads to higher profits. We show that despite the absence of any coordination or punishing device this process converges to the joint‐profit‐maximizing outcome.     

鸡蛋壳制备乙酸钙冰雪融化剂的研究

以鸡蛋壳为原料,对高温煅烧分解蛋壳、中和法制备乙酸钙(CA)的最佳反应条件进行了研究,试验结果表明:在所选参数下,其产量最大.即反应温度为50℃,配料摩尔比为CaO:HAc=1:2.8,乙酸浓度为15 mol/L,石灰乳浓度(以氧化钙计)为1.3 mol/L.产品融冰试验表明:CA在环境温度为-10℃以上使用时,其融冰效果较好.     

The FRC AND Accounting Standard‐Setting: Should I Still Call Australia Home?

This paper analyses the decision of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to replace Australian accounting standards with international accounting standards on 1 January, 2005. Two main topics are considered: the appropriateness of the FRC's directive, and the case against the proposed adoption date. We argue that the FRC has not conducted sufficient consultation with affected parties and that the hasty implementation will impose costs that could have been avoided with the exercise of more caution.     

Price Commitment versus Flexibility: the Role of Exchange Rate Uncertainty and its Implications for Exchange Rate Passthrough

The paper investigates the incentives to commit price or retain price flexibility in a model in which exporting firms face different degrees of exchange rate uncertainty. The result shows that introducing exchange rate uncertainty can lead to the endogenous emergence of a unique leader–follower equilibrium; which firm emerges as price leader depends on the substitutability of products, the magnitude of exchange rate uncertainty, and the cost structure. This study may provide one explanation as to why some exporters set price before the realization of the nominal exchange rates (“sticky price”). The results imply exchange rate variability affects exchange rate passthrough.     

Executives’ Orientations as Indicators of Crisis Management Policies and Practices*

ABSTRACT The paper examines effects of executives’ orientations on crisis management awareness and practices, drawing on the simplicity and paradox management theories. It is suggested that a focus on single‐sided management constitutes an antecedent of crisis proneness. Employing a set of key corporate domains and based on a holistic organizational approach, the study aims at assessing the extent to which companies are crisis prone or prepared. In a sample of 82 Istaeli business and not‐for‐profit organizations it was found that human resource management, strategy, structure, and unlearning factors significantly predicted crisis preparedness. These results suggest that unlearning, despite a mere allusion to this correlate in the simplicity and paradox management theories, correlates better with crisis preparedness. By contrast, traditional strategy‐related and structural effects were marginally related to crisis management policies. Implications and suggestions for further research are proposed.     

南中国海次区域自由贸易区可行性探讨

随着亚洲区域经济合作浪潮的高涨,中国大陆港澳台(以下简称四地)区域经济合作作为其中重要组成部分,日益引起国际关注.四地实质上的相互密切经贸关系为四地实现某种形式的区域经济集团奠定了深厚的基础,但由于四地特殊的政治关系,使得四地经济一体化进程充满坎坷,台湾与祖国大陆甚至至今尚未实现经贸关系正常化.面对因不能深化经济整合而无法产生的政治经济利益,诸多专家学者和爱国人士提出了各种变通或过渡性方案,其中有关推动"南中国海次区域经济合作"的方案是提得最多和最重要的.这类方案形式多样,虽然在区域划分和内容设定上有所不同,但其共同实质是一样的,即在南中国海地区选择一定范围的行政区划(例如:粤港、闽台、粤港澳、闽粤港澳台、闽粤琼港澳台等等),组成某种形式(以契约方式固定)的经济合作体,实行不同于整个国家的独立经贸政策.这种次区域经济合作构想在过去有较多的带有理想化色彩的设计和提法,但近年来被基本锁定在"自由贸易区"的范畴之内.这种构想的目的在于:1.深化区内产业分工和经济合作,加速提升区域国际竞争力;2.整合中国最具经济实力的地区,应对世界经济一体化和亚洲区域经济合作;3.以次区域合作推动整个中国的区域经济一体化,最终达成国家统一.     

Taxation, growth, and the spirit of capitalism

This paper uses a general two-sector model of endogenous growth to examine how the spirit of capitalism affects the relation between public finance and growth. The spirit of capitalism is defined as acquisitive personal objectives. We find that if the spirit of capitalism is present, an increase in the share of government spending in output reduces the long-run growth rate. The negative relationship between fiscal spending and growth is consistent with empirical evidence.     

CREDIT CYCLES REDUX*

Theoretical studies have shown that under unorthodox assumptions on preferences and production technologies, collateral constraints can act as a powerful amplification and propagation mechanism of exogenous shocks. We investigate whether or not this result holds under more standard assumptions. We find that collateral constraints typically generate small output amplification. Large amplification is obtained as a “knife‐edge” type of result.     

A theoretical framework to evaluate different margin‐setting methodologies

The margin system is the first line of defense against the default risk of a clearinghouse. From the perspectives of a clearinghouse, the utmost concern is to have a prudential system to control the default exposure. Once the level of prudentiality is set, the next concern will be the opportunity cost of the investors, because high opportunity cost discourages people from hedging futures, and thus defeats the function of a futures market. In this article, we first develop different measures of prudentiality and opportunity cost. We then formulate a statistical framework to evaluate different margin‐setting methodologies, all of which strike a balance between prudentiality and opportunity cost. Three margin‐setting methodologies, namely, (1) using simple moving averages; (2) using exponentially weighted moving averages; (3) using a GARCH approach, are applied to the Hang Seng Index futures. Keeping the same prudentiality level, it is shown that the one using a GARCH approach by and large gives the lowest average overcharge. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 24:117–145, 2004